Ministry says it terminated contract for Lethem horse stable

The Ministry of Public Security has said that it terminated the contract with a contractor who was hired to construct a horse stable at the Lethem Police Station.

Responding to questions asked by this newspaper, spokeswoman at the Ministry, Mary Adams said that the ministry would not be releasing information on the contractor as they want to retain a professional relationship. She noted that the ministry “would not want to hinder any prospective jobs for the contractor and we would like to keep a professional relationship between us and him.”

On Monday, Stabroek News reported that a coastland contractor who was awarded a contract to construct the horse stable at the station had abandoned the works.

Several persons in the community, including PPP/C Member of Parliament Alister Charlie confirmed that the contractor left without completing the project.

The works had been abandoned for several weeks and the reasons for this are unknown. However, Adams told Stabroek News that the ministry terminated the contract on the grounds that the contractor would not have satisfied their criteria and reached their standards.

“The contractor did do some works on the project but we have noticed that he was not keeping with our standards and criteria and we had to terminate the contract,” Adams explained.

Asked what was the cost of the project and if any monies were paid to the contractor for the works he executed, Adams said she was not in a position to disclose such information.

However, she responded positively when asked if a new contractor would be sought to complete the project. “Certainly we have to get another contractor to complete the job. We are currently looking at that aspect of it,” she disclosed.

A source told Stabroek News that the project was estimated at over $20M and only two sections of walls for the stable were constructed.